UMBAI,
JAN. 5.
In the wake of a slump in the stock markets today, the Securities and Exchange Board of India today said it "is keeping a close watch on the market and will take prompt steps to deal'' with unusual movements in trading.

"We are monitoring the trading pattern on the stock exchanges,'' a SEBI official said here today.

The market regulator would take immediate appropriate action in case any thing unusual happens, the official said.

The market today wilted under heavy sell-off across the spectrum wiping out investors' wealth to the tune of over Rs. 58,000 crore in a virtual bloodbath and plunged to the depths of 6334.74 before minimising the losses to 192.17 points at close, the biggest since May 28 last year.  PTI